The Day the Sky Fell: It Ends Tonight
by An-Jelly-Ca
Summary: Rewrite of my previous story by the same title. Now features young!Journey, Scrubs, and CarSon. Shooters enter the gymnasium of their highschool.April 19th, a day that held no significance to anyone at the time was the day lives would change forever.
1. Prologue

**A/N This is a rewrite of my old story 'The Day the Sky Fell', now it will be written when Courtney, Robin, Patrick, Liz, and Carly are in high school, as well as almost everyone else. So R&R I can't wait to see what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_The game was tied and everyone's eyes were riveted on the court. Cheerleaders from the home team were holding hands and shouting encouragement to their teams. It was the basketball finals, this was momentous, this was important. Suddenly the doors to the gym crashed open and three men came in firing guns into the air. At first people thought it was a joke but then they shot the first woman, her scream echoed through the gym. A blond haired cheerleader froze her blue eyes wide as the gun men walked further into the gym._

"_Nobody move. Sit down on the ground." The first man commanded his voice cold. The teenager's dark haired friend grabbed her hand and pulled her down. "Let's play a game." He continued as he idly twisted his gun in his hands. "Hmm, who's the captain of this cheerleading squad?" He asked coming up to the huddle of girls._

"_Me." The blond girl said meeting his eyes fiercely. _

"_Gather your squad and come up front." He commanded. She gestured for her squad to follow her. Looking into the crowd her terrified blue eyes locked with sapphire orbs so like her own, they reassured her that she would be okay. _

"_Can you tell me what a cheerleader does?" He asked the girl._

"_They lead the crowd in cheers." The girl responded her face impassive revealing nothing; only those who knew her well would see her fear._

"_Yes, they do in fact lead the crowd, and you, you and your squads are going to lead the people in a little game." The man said before turning to face a woman in the bleachers. "Tsk, tsk." He said and unflinchingly he shot her and she fell down the bleacher steps. "I wouldn't recommend anyone else tries calling the police." He said his eyes cold._

I remember crying; I remember not being able to stop it was as though I knew nothing but tears. They were my refuge and I cried that day. The day itself is a blur but I remember crying and I remember a feeling of hopelessness that grew steadily worse the as the day grew longer. I was there; on that horrible day the day the sky came crashing down. The day lives changed for ever. The day disaster struck. I remember noise but I don't remember what it was, and I remember talking but I don't know what I said. Sometimes I sit and I stare into space and I remember things from that day. The memories are disjointed and out of focus but bit by bit it comes to me and bit by bit I learned the magnitude of what happened. Sometimes I wish I didn't know; but I always wish I could take back that day, take it back and start over. Who am I? My name is Courtney Sofia Corinthos, and I was there that day. For you to understand that day; the worst day of my life I need to start at the beginning.

"_Morning, Sonny." I said happily as I bounded down the stairs saying hello to my brother, who I lived with as our parents had long since died._

"_Morning, Court." Sonny responded as he searched through his desk for some papers._

"_Are you coming to my game?" I asked. I was on cheerleading with my best friends: Carly, Robin, and Elizabeth. _

"_Don't worry, I said I'd be there didn't I? Have I ever lied to you?" Sonny answered as he collected the papers he would need for the day._

"_No." I answered after pausing a moment to consider and causing him to scowl at me. "Bye, Sonny. Be there at six, okay?"_

"_Yeah, yeah, now go to school." I grinned at him and waved bye _

The morning had started normally nothing that would ever have made me think that tragedy would strike. But tragedy did strike and what started out as a great day turned into something horrifying, I can't say that it was just bad or horrible; it was the worst day of my life. The day that my world came crashing down. It's funny how we were always worried that Sonny's or Jason's job would cause something like this to happen. But it had nothing to do with that. We were just at our school's basketball game.

**A/N R&R.**


	2. A Day Without Signifigance

**A/N All right people here is chapter 2!**

**Thanks to those who reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own so please don't sue me!**

_April 19__th__, a day that held no significance to anyone at the time. Before the day was through it would be ingrained in the memories of all those who entered the gymnasium of the private high school that day. The morning was clear without a single cloud in the sky, odd for the time of year which was frequently defined by the afternoon storms that occurred_.

Courtney's POV

I remember feeling cheated when the horror of the day had finally ended. It should have rained, people died, my life changed for ever and there was nothing not a single drop of water. When it rained I had always thought it meant God was crying that he too was upset about the bad things that occurred. In essence I took the rain to mean that the even was senseless that it shouldn't have happened. But then on that terrible day when my life changed forever not a drop of rain fell from the sky the heat was unbearable and it was the very essence of the phrase 'a beautiful spring day' and I remember a sense of anger that the world dared to appear so cheerful when so many innocent people died and so many lives were destroyed because of the actions of a handful of men. On the day of the attack I tried to be brave I really did, but it was so hard, the leader kept seeking me out and forcing me to do things. I don't think any day will ever match the horror and grief that I have felt as a result of it.

Flashback

"_Would you like to know what the game is?" The man asked his voice sending shivers down Courtney's spine._

"…_Not really." She responded staring at him levelly despite her fear and then he had grabbed her by her arms and was holding her off the ground._

"_I will not tolerate such behavior." The ringleader had said squeezing her with bruising force. "This is for your rudeness." He continued walking over to the bleachers and grabbing a little girl, she couldn't have been older then six or seven. He shot her. Courtney would never forget the scared look in the emerald eyes of the little girl it would haunt her for the rest of her life. "I suggest you remember your place from now on." He said coldly. Courtney could feel tears trail down her face as she nodded._

"_Now I want you and your squad to have the first two rows of bleachers descend. I then want you to sort them according to gender and then I want you to survey them, I want you to ask adults their jobs and children their grades, I want to know what activities they're involved in. Ask my partner over there for notepads and pens." The ringleader ordered nodding toward a masked man to his left._

_End Flashback_

It's my fault that little girl died, only mine. If I had just said yes she could still be alive. If I hadn't been so damn stubborn her family wouldn't have lost her. It's all my fault. If only I could go back and change it all I would. But no matter how many times I go over that day in my head I can't change it, and I think that hurts worse then anything else.

From the Killer's View

_It's funny how they thought they could get away with this. The administration of this school expelled me, they repressed my ideas. They refused to see me for the genius I was. I am the future of the world. I understand the division between those who are worthy and those who are useless. They couldn't understand that I needed cleanse the world of those who don't deserve to live in it. They called me insane; a sociopath. They sent me away but I've come back. They failed to recognize my brilliance but now I will enact my program. And I will commence with it here at the very school that refused to see reason. And when my task is completed here they will realize who much time they've wasted; they'll understand the importance of my noble undertaking. And they'll thank me for it; for I will weed away the unworthy ones leaving only the crème de le crème; those who can contribute to creating my utopia._

**A/N R&R. This was really hard to right, especially the flashback (shudders). Review!**


	3. Looking Back

**A/N This story is really hard to write…the guy is just quite frankly a psycho. **

**Thanks to all reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone other then a few original characters and most of those are psychos who I really don't want to own anyway.**

Looking back to that day I can't help but think that there were so many things I could have done, if I had lied to him, if I had just changed the descriptions, if I had just done something, anything, they could still be alive. But I didn't, I did nothing, and because of me, the students from my school and their families went through unspeakable horrors. He put me in charge, the ringleader made me make decisions, decisions no person should have to make, and because of me those people died. All because I wasn't smart enough, fast enough, good enough to save them.

_Flashback_

"_You, come here." The head gunman said indicating to Courtney who had just finishing taking down the information for the people in her section._

"_Yes?" Courtney asked._

"_Yes, sir." The man replied._

"_Yes, sir." Courtney repeated praying silently that he wouldn't kill anyone for her slip, and he didn't, at least not yet._

"_And your name is?"_

"_Courtney."_

"_You're full name."_

"_Courtney Mariana Matthews-Corinthos." the ringleader raised an eyebrow at her last name._

"_As in Sonny Corinthos?" She hesitated before answering him. "Answer, or I kill him." He continued effortlessly holding his gun on a small terrified four year old boy._

"_Yes, sir."_

"_And is your brother here?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_Point him out to me." He commanded and Courtney panicked, what was she supposed to do?!_

"_No."_

"_No?"_

"_No, Sir."_

"_I do believe I'm going to like you, Courtney." He replied and the sound of her name on his lips sent chills down her spine. "Go and collect the lists from you're squad." The man whose name she would later learn was Jack Garrison finished. Courtney nodded and set about collecting the pads of paper from the other cheerleaders. "And now we shall filter out the unworthy ones in this section." Garrison said a grin spreading across his otherwise emotionless face. "Elena Smith, step forward." He ordered and a scared looking teenage girl stepped out from the line. Courtney knew this girl, she was quiet, kept to herself._

"_Yes, sir?"_

"_According to this you have a B average, is that correct?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_And you're not involved in any activities?" _

"_No, sir."_

"_I see." Garrison replied before gesturing to a second gunman. And before Courtney could even blink, before Elena had time to register pain at the bullet entering her skull, she had hit the ground, dead. "It does not do to be average." He answered coldly in reply to the shocked and horrified faces. "Amanda Evan." A brown haired green eyed girl stepped forward and met his eyes defiantly._

"_And what kind of grades do you make?"_

"_I make B's." She answered after a pause with a glare. He chuckled lightly._

"_And do you do any activities?"_

"_Karate and Tennis." She answered. And Courtney's eyes widened slightly this was Robin's friend, the girl she took karate with as well as being her doubles partner. Courtney risked a glance at her best friend and saw Robin watching her brown eyes silently praying that her friend would survive this._

"_Indeed…go sit over there Miss Evan." Garrison ordered gesturing with his automatic weapon toward the back wall of the gym. _

_End Flashback_

If only getting sent to that wall meant survival, if only it had, but it didn't, it only meant that you would face a much different fate then the one those he found unworthy. Those who were sent to the back wall of the gym underwent a second questioning, and were given certain tasks to complete, and if they didn't finish they faced a much worse fate, but that wouldn't come until much later.

_Flashback_

"_I have a job for you, Courtney." Garrison said in a voice that bordered on gleeful._

"_Yes, sir?"_

"_Well, since you're so willing to protect you're brother, even when there was risk that I would have shot that little boy, I figure that you can make difficult decisions. Am I correct in that?" He asked and she was about to say no when he nodded to a fellow hostage taker. The man had his gun on Robin in a second and Courtney froze and nodded hesitantly. "Excellent. I have a job for you then." _

"_What is it, Sir?"_

"_You, my dear, are going to play with fate, so to speak, you're going to be my protégé, and you'll be picking who lives and who dies." Courtney could feel her jaw drop as she gape at the man who stood before her._

"…_And if I refuse?"_

"_Then I kill you're friend one at a time, you watch, I do it slowly, painfully, and you can watch them bleed out on the floor, and I'll be starting with your precious Mr. Morgan, don't think I don't know all about you, I planned this, I knew how the game would be played, and therefore I researched my game pieces, you and your squad."_

"_What kind of choice is that?" Courtney demanded angrily her blue eyes flashing._

"_It isn't. And this is what I love about you, my dear; you have a certain spark, a fire, and that is what will make you such a great heir to my new order."_

"_Do you honestly believe I'll swallow you're crap?"_

"_In time, for you see my dear, no matter how much you want to help all of these…" Garrison said gesturing toward the crowd. "You don't care nearly as much about them as you do about these." He finished nodding at her squad. _

_End Flashback_

I sacrificed innocent people, I couldn't think, and all I could see was Jason dying on the floor, Robin bleeding to death, Sonny staring at me with pale lifeless eyes. It was too much, I didn't know what to say, and I couldn't stop it, I couldn't. I tried to stop him I did…and when I said no, he didn't like it so much. I quickly learned that refusing wasn't wise, refusing made things worse, and I could only pray that the police would get here before he killed them all. Three innocents had already died and he'd been there less then half an hour...many more would follow.

**A/N Review…**


	4. Arrival of the Police

**A/N I'm so sorry about the wait, please forgive me and continue to read and review. **

**Thanks to all reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: I own nada.**

**Dedication: To Ella, for being a faithful reviewer for not just this story but many of my others.**

It's been several months since that way and I don't think I'm over it yet, I don't think I'll ever be over it. I thought I was okay with bad situations, I mean my brother is a mob boss my boyfriend is his hit man. But I was very, very wrong, because knowing that your boyfriend kills people who were horrible anyway and seeing someone kill people for sport or because he doesn't think they're good enough for some kind of sadistic world he imagined in his head is another thing entirely.

Flashback

_Courtney blinked at her surrounding in a growing sense of horror; the bodies of students, people she'd known and several that she didn't, littered the floor; most of them dead, several of them dying. Garrison surveyed the carnage with a look of pride and the blonde was tempted to throw up. She swallowed down the bile rising in her throat as he turned and approached her once more. "So, Courtney," The sound of her name on his lips sent shivers down her spine "are you ready for the next phase of my plan?" Courtney wanted to scream that no she wasn't ready, that she'd never be ready, she wanted to cry, cry until she ran out of tears, she wanted to run, run away and keep going, but more then anything she wanted to march up to him and punch his stupid face in. But Courtney didn't do any of those things. Instead she just nodded mutely and waited for him to continue. "As you can probably tell I've finished with the first two rows of bleachers, which of course leaves eight more." Courtney nodded again wondering where he was going with this. Garrison was about to continue when the sound of sirens sounded like a beacon of hope to the terrified people in the gym. "It would seem," Garrison paused glancing around the gym. "that we have company, but never fear, this won't interfere with my plan." The man taped his chin presumably thinking as he waited for the police to start trying to negotiate. After ten minutes of the people in the gym waiting with baited breath the sound of a megaphone sounded clearly from outside the gym doors._

"_This is the police. Come out with your hands up." The worried voice of Robin's uncle Mac Scorpio resounded through the gym. Garrison smirked shaking his head in amusement and then abruptly spun around grabbed Courtney by the arm extracting a startled gasp from the head cheerleader. He then proceeded to drag her toward the main doors of the _

_The parking lot of the high school was a flurry of activity; ambulance workers, police, administration from the school, reporters, and family of those inside gathered outside. Courtney swallowed and squinted against the bright lights of the spotlights the police had set up. "Nobody come any closer." Garrison commanded a smile on his face as he held the gun pressed to the cheerleader's head with bruising force._

"_Let her go and put your hands on your head." Mac commanded futilely. _

"_I think not." The hostage taker said coolly. "The ball as they say is in my court." Mac frowned at this but didn't speak. _

"_What do you want?"_

"_I like most people want a lot of things, but I suppose you want to know what I want to release the hostages such as your lovely nice Robin, I'm quite fond of her you know, almost as fond as I am of Courtney." The hostage taker taunted. "Hmm, maybe I'll keep them both, what do you think, Courtney?" Garrison asked glancing at the blonde briefly before looking back at Mac._

"_Let us send a phone in for negotiation." Mac said pleadingly._

"_Nope, I believe I told you to stay put." The man said grinning sadistically. "Tell you what though, I'll let you call me on your precious niece's phone, isn't that nice of me, Courtney?" Garrison asked. "I believe that's quite enough chit chat for now. You may call in twenty minutes no sooner, and no later, and if any phone besides Robin's rings I shoot the owner of said phone." The man finished before dragging Courtney backwards into the gym. _

_End Flashback_

That's about when things really started to get bad, I had thought that the police arriving on the scene would mean that we would be freed soon, God, how naïve was I? It only meant that Garrison had more people to place with in his sadistic little game. I still hear the screams of those he killed every time I'm alone. A part of me died that day with all those students, parents, and other spectators and I'll never get it back.

**A/N Well, review please.**


	5. Bargains

**A/N Tis a sad, sad day indeed when I allow a story of mine to go so long without an update. My most sincere apologies to you all.**

**Thanks to All Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To Ella for her amazing review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nada.**

**How could this happen to me  
I've made my mistakes  
got nowhere to run  
The night goes on as I'm fading away  
I'm sick of this life  
I just wanna scream  
How could this happen to me**

_Flashback_

_"I'm going to offer you a special reward." Garrison remarked with a benevolent smile. I struggled to maintain a neutral expression on my face. "I'm going to allow you to pick ten individuals in this room to free, excluding your fellow cheerleaders of course." _

_"What's the catch?" I asked warily. _

_"I'm going to kill two more people in exchange. And you're going to choose those as well." He said gleefully._

_"And if I refuse?" I asked, because I fully intended to refuse, if this guy thought I was going to play judge and jury for the people in this audience he had another thing coming._

_"Then, I will simply kill fifteen people, as opposed to sparing ten." He replied angelically. _

_I gaped at him in horror. "Please." I whispered. "Don't make me do this."_

_"The choice is yours, Miss Corinthos, either select two people for me to kill, or watch as I kill fifteen people at random."_

_"Fine." I said after a pause. "Release the ten I choose first." I demanded._

_"Of course, select your ten, then." Garrison waved a hand in the general direction of the bleachers. I surveyed the crowd, wondering if I should save my own loved ones first, however, as I thought it over I came to the conclusion that I should save those people who I knew Garrison would be most likely to find unworthy. And, I had an idea that he would preserve Jason and Sonny if solely for the purpose of using them as leverage over me. _

_In the eight remaining rows of bleachers, their were approximately eighty or so people. I surveyed them looking for people I knew he would eventually kill. I selected ten people after as long a period as I could manage to delay it over, which was about fifteen minutes as Garrison grew bored and commanded me to make my final decision or he would begin shooting at random. _

_In the end, I selected three slackers from my school, an elderly couple, and five small children. True to his word, Garrison ushered them out the door, dragging me with him to serve as his shield from the cops stationed outside. _

_"I kept up my part of the bargain, Miss Corinthos, and now you must keep yours." He reminded me with a smile._

_To his surprise, I responded with a grin of my own. And, deliberately pointed at his two fellow gunmen. _

_He responded with applause. "Well played, Courtney, well played indeed." He was amused. "However, you have to know that I am not going to shoot my own men. But, as a reward for your intelligence, and because I am violating a portion of the agreement I will allow you to choose ten more people to free."_

_I selected ten more children to free, as they seemed to be one of his favorite targets. Once they were escorted out of the gym, we were left with sixty people or so in the bleachers, twenty-four basketball players, twenty cheerleaders, six coaches, an announcer, two referees, and a concession stand employee. _

_The sound of Robin's ring-tone echoed through the largely silent gym, the twenty minutes had elapsed. Garrison held out his hand for the phone, Robin deposited it there before swiftly backing away. _

_"Hello?" _

_"This is Police Commissioner, Mac Scorpio." _

_"Ah, yes, Commissioner Scorpio...your niece makes splendid company, you know?" _

_"Leave Robin alone." Mac ordered through gritted teeth._

_"You're in no position to be making orders, Commissioner." He replied in a sing-song voice. "Besides, after all the people I've so kindly released, you would think you could be a little bit nicer to me." _

_"What do you want?" _

_"You cut to the chase, I like that. Much like my new friend, Miss Corinthos." Garrison beamed at me and I resisted the urge to hurl. "What does anyone want? Recognition, of course. I simply desire the admission that my new world order is brilliant. That is all. And the elimination of the unworthy people of course."_

_"I was hoping for a request of a more tangible variety." Mac commented. _

_"Were you?" Garrison inquired pleasantly. "Alright, get me a news crew willing to come in here and broadcast my views, I will swear immunity for them, and I will release thirty of the hostages." _

_It was an excellent offer as far as such offers went, but not one which the police would like to accept, they were not in the practice of allowing civilians to expose themselves to danger, even to save other civilians. _

_"Suppose we just get you on the phone with a newscaster?" Mac asked._

_"Not good enough." _

_"Alright, what if we get a camera in there, and you speak to the reporter via phone, so that they can question you, but you have the camera there so you can be assured your message is being spread as well?" Mac compromised. _

_"Fine. You have half an hour to make it happen, otherwise I will kill thirty hostages instead." With this last remark the call was ended._

_End Flashback_

I thought that as more hostages were freed it would mean the end of our ordeal, instead it simply meant that he had gotten rid of those people whom he viewed as largely unnecessary to his little game, allowing him to have more fun with those who remained. I was one of the lucky ones, I survived, but can it really be called surviving when I live a live trapped amidst these terrible memories? I don't believe so, anyway.

**A/N Review! Updates will occur on Saturdays in compliance with the schedule posted on my profile.**


	6. Real Life Monsters

**A/N Woot! Thus, begins cycle two of my new updating schedule, and I am actually sticking to it so far.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To usaprincess242 for her review!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing beyond the plot.**

When I think back to that dark day in April, I wish more than anything that I hadn't gone to the game that night, I wish there had been no game that night. I quit the cheerleading squad shortly after that. There wasn't much left that I thought was worth cheering for, and I couldn't bear to face the role I had been forced to play that night as a result of my so-called position of authority as cheerleading captain.

Garrison got his wish, a newscaster by the name of Kristen Hampton agreed to broadcast the story, and although a camera was brought in the gym to record Garrison's words it was not played live. The news station was unwilling to display such carnage, and they were also prohibited from showing the recording, as the police were not sure who had been injured or killed so far, and they couldn't have families informed by seeing their relations lying dead on the gym floor. So it was that channel seven was given the dubious honor of interviewing one of the biggest sociopaths ever to hit Port Charles, New York, which was saying something given the usual residents and guests known to inhabit the town.

-Flashback-

Garrison grabbed me by the arm and dragged me once more toward the door of the gym. Mac had called to inform him that the camera was waiting outside. As I was dragged in Garrison's desired direction I looked up into the stands to spot Jason and Sonny. Sonny looked enraged, Jason appeared calm, although something glittered in his eyes that clued me into the fear he was feeling, which I knew was mirrored in my face. He also appeared calculating, he was surveying the gym as though trying to decide whether he could manage to take out the gunmen before they managed to kill any of the civilians. For the moment the answer to that questioned seemed to be no, but I knew that Jason would be watching for an opportunity to turn the tables.

The camera was brought in, Garrison made one of the basketball players hold it. He had the teenager, whose name I later learned was Mark, pan the camera across the crowd, and across the pile of dead and dying people on the gym floor. And, then he began to speak. Garrison had a good public speaking style, full of pathos, and if not for the fact that he was a raving lunatic you could almost be drawn in.

"I attended this school, years ago." He began. "They didn't understand my genius back then, didn't understand the flaws of the doctrine "all men are created equal." You all tell yourselves that we're equal, the same. Deep down, you know that is not the case. Some people are inherently better than others, and some people are not worth the oxygen they breathe."

I wanted to reply, yeah, like you, because if anyone wasn't worth the air they were breathing it was clearly him. I said nothing though. I simply stood off to the side and listened with growing horror.

"It is time, that we, the people who understand this clear fact, take action and seize control. It is time to restore leadership to the superior beings in this nation. And, that will start today at this school." He paused for effect. "Look around, you will see the bodies of unworthy people in this gym, they have been disposed of, taken care of, and I think you will find that we're all better off for it." He concluded his long monologue at this point as Robin's cell phone began to ring. He indicated that I should hand it over to him and I did.

"Hello?" Garrison spoke into the phone.

"You have your camera, now release the thirty hostages." Mac's voice sounded through the phone.

"What about this newscaster who is supposed to interview me?" Garrison reminded.

"I will connect you with her as soon as the hostages are released."

"Fine. However, if you double0cross me, Commissioner you will find that your niece will pay the price."

"Understood." Mac replied tersely.

Garrison indicated that the people in the next three rows of bleachers should rise. They did so and were made to file down and line up single file. He counted them after this and found out that instead of the desired thirty people there were thirty-two. He calmly proceeded to shoot the last two people in the line. I heard a muffled sob from the gym floor, and looked over to see Robin's tennis partner crying. The people Garrison had just shot were her brother and father.

I felt my hands start to shake as I watched Garrison shove the thirty hostages out the door.

-End Flashback-

I learned what a real monster was that day, and found that I much preferred the make believe monsters of my childhood, the boogie man and such creatures, were much less scary than this real life horror.

**A/N Review!**


	7. The Beginning of the End

**A/N Hello, my lovely readers, I have missed you all quite a lot. :) I apologize that this was not posted on Saturday as specified by my schedule, but I am currently in Florida on vacation. I was packing on Saturday all day, and Sunday most of my day was spent in the airport. Thus, I fell behind on my updating. ;)**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To the wonderful usaprincess242 for her review. :)**

It's weird living through something like that day. After that it seems strange to ever be happy or normal, because really after you've seen so many people die or be injured or tormented , how can you think about going to the mall? I've tried to move on since then but it is hard to forget what happened or even to push it from my thoughts, I hope that by recapping these events I will finally be able to move on.

Flashback

_The quantity of people in the gym had been far lessened, there remained around thirty people in the bleachers including Jason and Sonny who were sitting in the very back, as well as the twenty-four basketball players, six coaches, twenty cheerleaders, two referees, two announcers, and a concession stand employee._

_Garrison had just gotten on the phone with the woman from channel seven, Kristen Hampton._

_"Hello, this is Kristen Hampton, who am I speaking with?"_

_"My name is Walter Garrison." Garrison answered._

_"I understand that you have a certain vision, Mr. Garrison, could you share that with my audience?" I could just barely detect the hint of revulsion carefully disguised in her voice._

_"I plan to change the world for the better by eliminating the politically correct lie that everyone is equal." Garrison explained._

_"What do you mean?" She prompted._

_"Well, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, even though Jefferson himself didn't follow the maxim as he kept slaves. More recently, we are all taught in school to adhere to a doctrine not even believed by its creator or at least not carried out by him. The fact is that we are not all the same, some of us are better than others, therefore some people deserve priority, these better people should run the country. My experiment here today is just the first step to a larger world view." Garrison expounded promptly._

_"What exactly is your experiment, Mr. Garrison?" Hampton questioned although she already knew the answer._

_"Weeding out the week from my old high school. Right now there remain around ninty people in here with me, I've released some and eliminated others, by the time I finish I will have taught everyone a lesson they will never forget." Garrison replied pleasantly._

_"I'm sure no one will be forgetting this any time soon." She replied evasively._

_"That's all I ask for." Garrison answered. "Anyway, thank you for your time, I have work to be getting back to, I'm sure you understand."_

_"Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to discuss?" Hampton asked desperately, she clearly was attempting to keep him on the line for as long as possible, so that he couldn't return to his other past time. ie. killing people._

_"Quite sure. Good-bye, Miss Hampton." Garrison however was having none of it and ended the call. "Now, let's get back to business." He continued turning to smile beatifically at the people in the gym. "I don't know about the rest of you, but this gym seems overcrowded to me. I believe it is quite past time to weed out some of the superfluous hangers-ons, wouldn't you agree, Miss Corinthos?" He inquired turning to me._

_"Personally, I think it's delightfully cozy, precisely the right amount of people!" I exclaimed._

_"Well, if you think so..." Garrison said hesitatingly. "I was going to allow a few more people to join your charming friend Miss Scorpio's uncle, but if you really think it's not overcrowded..." He trailed off._

_"You know maybe it is a tad bit overcrowded in here," I said nodding my head in agreement._

_"Oh, so you agree then?" Garrison asked._

_"Yes." I said after only a brief moment of hesitation._

_"I'll just fix the situation then, shall I?" Garrison said and without waiting for a response directed the last three rows of bleachers to stand up, and proceeded to call for every other person to stand up, this included Sonny, it did not include Jason. He ordered one of the guards to escort the fifteen or so people he had pointed out from the gym. This left just Jason and less than twenty other people in the bleachers. He had the remaining people file down from the bleachers and line up in front of him in a straight line. _

_I locked eyes with Jason, I had a really bad feeling about what was going to happen to him and the rest of the line. I was right. I wish I wasn't._

_-_End Flashback_-_

**_Everybody's screaming_**  
**_I try to make a sound but no one hears me_**  
**_I'm slipping off the edge_**  
**_I'm hanging by a thread_**  
**_I wanna start this over again_**  
**_So I try to hold_**  
**_On to a time when _**  
**_Nothing mattered_**  
**_And I can't explain what happened_**  
**_And I can't erase the things that I've done_**  
**_No I can't-How Could This Happen to Me, Simple Plan_**

******A/N Review! Next chapter will have more outright Journey, as well as huge amounts of angst. Dude, and isn't Garrison totally screwed up in the head? **


	8. Romeo and Juliet

**A/N Hello my lovely reviewers, I apologize for the slight lateness in updating. I am currently on vacation in Florida which is delaying things somewhat.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: to usaprincess242 for her review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot and the evil people.**

I was seventeen when it happened, Jason was nineteen. We were in love; Sonny thought he was too old and too dangerous for me. I didn't care, and neither did Jason. Despite this we kept our relationship secret from him, we didn't want to cause trouble, so we pretended to be content as merely friends. The agony I felt as I watched Garrison point his gun at those fifteen people...at Jason, was not what one felt for a friend. It was the kind of agony that Juliet must have felt when she woke up and found Romeo dead, it was the heart-wrenching grief that could induce one to wish for death.

I've never believed in 'to death do us part,' if you really love someone, really truly love them, would you allow death to be the end? I will never love anyone like Jason, and some trivial thing like death could never part us, never.

_-Flashback-_

_"We're going to play a little game, a game of chance as it were," Garrison collected a notebook and pen, as well as a hat, which he took off the head of one of the people he had murdered earlier that evening. He began to write different body parts down on the slips of paper, as well as one slip which bore the word 'free.'_

_He wrote down the following phrases: left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, chest, right temple, left temple, forehead, back of head, right foot, left foot, throat, back, stomach, and finally free. He folded up the slips of paper and put them in the hat, mixing them up, he then directed me to walk the length of the line and offer a slip of paper to each person. Jason was the eight person in line._

_"I love you, Court, no matter what happens, know that." He whispered to me when I held the hat out to him._

_"I love you, too." I whispered back, meeting his eyes and taking note of the agonized expression in them which I knew was mirrored in my own expression. I moved on to the next person to offer the slip of paper after that, and the next and the next, and the next. I felt like the Grim Reaper sowing death wherever I passed._

_"Now, will you please open up your piece of paper?" He inquired of the first person in line. "Then hand it to the charming Miss Corinthos to read."_

_The person, a girl of maybe twenty-two or so who I didn't recognize, did as commanded, and a small sob tore from her throat as she handed the paper to me. I glanced down at it, although it took me a few seconds to read as my hands were shaking. "Back, it says back." I whispered._

_"Pity, I would have liked to see your face as I killed you, but a game is a game after all, turn around, please." Garrison requested politely._

_She was shaking too badly to obey. Garrison gestured to one of the armed gunmen who sauntered over and forcibly turning her around and holding her in position by her arm as Garrison took aim. It was over in less than a minute, the girl crumpled to the floor, blood flowing out to form a puddle on the floor. I felt vaguely nauseous as I watched. I wanted no part in Garrison's games. Garrison, himself, simply turned to the next person in line, a male, maybe thirty or so, and directed him to hand the paper over to me._

_I accepted it, and read off his face my voice shaking as I did so. "Right foot." He was lucky, I was glad for him, but at the same time I knew that every better option pulled from the hat meant an increased likelihood that Jason would be facing a fatal shot. Garrison yawned and had shot the man in the foot, before I even had time to register what was going on. He fell to the ground in pain, his screams echoing through the gym. _

_"Shut up, or I'll give you a real injury." Garrison commanded. The man went silent. "Next."_

_I took that as an order to gather the third sheet of paper from a teenage boy, a freshmen, I knew him by sight if not by name. "Right leg." He was a soccer player, the injury would probably put him out of commission for the entire season, if not longer, but it was better than being dead._

_After finishing with the freshmen boy, Garrison gestured to the forth person in line. A sixty year old woman, she reminded me of the Grandma I had adopted through my school's Adopt a Grandparent program and I couldn't stop the sob that tore from my throat as I took the paper from her._

_"It's okay, dearie, the Lord will take care of us all in the end." She said reassuringly to me. I wanted to cry, instead I read off, "forehead." Before I could so much as blink, the elderly woman was dead, starring up at the ceiling with wide unseeing eyes. The fifth person, a woman, got left foot, and the sixth, a teenage girl who I didn't know, got right temple. The seventh got left leg._

_Jason was next. When he handed me the paper he squeezed my hand briefly in comfort, I felt a tear slide down my face. "Goodbye, Courtney." He said, as if he knew what was coming. He probably did._

_"Stomach." I read. And, then I threw myself in front of him. "Please, don't kill him, don't, please." I begged. Garrison seemed amused by pleas and gestured to the guard who had held the first woman in place. He strode over to me, and seized me by the waist pulling me backwards away from Jason. I fought tooth and nail to get away, to get to Jason, but it was too late. Garrison leveled his gun and suddenly Jason was on the ground, a puddle of blood slowly forming underneath him. "Bastard." I screamed. "You piece of crap, you sick, disgusting son of a bitch, how dare you?" And before anyone could stop me, I had elbowed the other gunman in the chest and strode over to Garrison and slapped him across the face. His head slammed to the side with an audible crack, but he was still able to grab my wrist and squeeze tightly. _

_"That is not acceptable, Miss Corinthos." _

_I spat in his face. He backhanded me with his freehand with enough force that I could taste the blood in my mouth. "It seems that you need to be taught a lesson, and you will be just as soon as I finish up with these remaining seven people." He stated. He then dragged me over to the gunman I had elbowed, the man took charge of me and forcibly dragged me over to the bleachers, handcuffing me to the metal bars on the sides to prevent people from falling off._

_Garrison had retrieved Elizabeth who was pale and shaking from where the cheerleaders had been seated in the corner of the gym. She was directed to continue the task he had set me. I didn't take note of what happened to those remaining seven people, I was too busy starring down at the possibly dead body of the man that I loved, and wishing that I could join him. _

_-End Flashback-_

I can honestly say that before that day I never truly understood hatred. Never comprehended what it is like to truly loathe someone, to wish them dead, wish them tortured in the worst way possible.

But I hated Garrison. Hated him. Abhorred him. Wished that I had a gun in my hands so that I could kill him myself. But a gun was too good for him, he deserved to suffer, really and truly suffer. Suffer for what he had done. I wish I had hit him again.

**A/N Review, please. Yes, I am indeed quite evil for what I did to Jason. **


	9. Nobody's Home

**A/N Hello, everybody! Sorry for the recent delays, but updates should proceed as scheduled now that I have returned from vacation.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To usaprincess242 my most faithful reviewer. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nada.**

When I was little my favorite movie was Thumbelina, I would watch it over and over again until I knew most of it by heart. I found it to be terribly romantic; I loved how Prince Cornelius never gave up on finding Thumbelina, and how he risked death to find her again.

That day however, one song from the movie kept playing over and over in my head:

_Romeo and Juliet were very much in love when they were wed, they honored every vow, so where are they now? They're dead, dead, very, very dead._

I wished I was dead.

-Flashback-

_"Are you prepared to learn the consequences of your actions, Miss Corinthos?" Garrison questioned in a amused tone when he finished slaughtering the rest of the line. I glared in reply. He walked over to me and un-handcuffed me, dragging me by the arm back to the gym floor. _

_"Bastard." I said venomously. "I hope you die." _

_His free hand closed around my throat and black spots danced in my vision. "Forgotten our manners, have we?" He inquired calmly shaking me like a ragdoll. When I was sure I would pass out he released me and I fell to my knees gasping for air. _

_"One of us has." I retorted when I regained the ability to breathe. I knew it was stupid to provoke him, but I didn't care anymore, if Jason was dead I wanted to be dead too. _

_He reached down and pulled me upward by my hair, I grimaced in pain as he lowered his face so that it was inches from mine. "I am not amused at all, Miss Corinthos. You will have to learn the consequences of disobedience." I spat in his face._

_He snarled and commanded one of the guards to bring Robin and Carly my two best friends over to him. "Pick one." He said simply._

_"Excuse me?" I demanded as I looked at the frightened faces of my friends._

_"Choose one to save, one to die."_

_"Fuck no." I replied. "I'm not playing your sick games, freak." _

_"I could always kill them both if you won't make a choice." Garrison offered._

_"I hate you." I hissed at him._

_"Is that an answer?" He wondered._

_"If I said you were my best friend could I make killing you an option?" I asked pleasantly._

_"I do enjoy your wit, Miss Corinthos, I only wish you would realize the futility of further resistance." Garrison answered cheerfully._

_"Is that an answer?" I mimicked mostly out of a desire to stall him. I wondered why the police didn't just storm the building. They were killing people left, right, and center as it was, so did it really matter if they opened fire upon police entrance? If they were lucky they might be able to get out in the ensuing confusion before Garrison managed to kill that many of them._

_"Make your choice, Miss Corinthos, either Miss Scorpio or Miss Spencer, who will you save? Who will you condemn?" He asked. "Isn't it a thrill to know that you have total control over someone's life? To know that their continued existence relies entirely on you? Don't you just love it?"_

_"No." I packed as much venom into the word as I could muster. I looked at Robin pale under her freckles, and Carly shaking despite the defiant look in her eyes. How could I condemn one of them to die? I knew the answer, of course, it was really quite simple, I could NOT let either of them die, I could not be responsible for their deaths._

_"Have you made your decision?" Garrison asked._

_"Kill me." I said firmly._

_"Excuse me?" Garrison asked in much the same tone I had said it earlier._

_"Kill me," I repeated. "I would rather die than be responsible for either of them dying."_

_"I'm afraid that wasn't an option." Garrison replied and leveled the gun at his target. The crack of the gun resounded through the gym and I watched as my friend collapsed a pool of red underneath her._

-End Flashback-

I am a die-hard Twilight fan and that day as I watched Garrison turn his gun on my best friend I could not help but think of Jacob Black's words: 'Life sucks, then you die. Yeah, I should be so lucky.'

I felt like Jacob in that moment. Everyone else was dying around me, and I was forced to watch it all, watch them suffer, and more than anything else I wanted it all to end, I wanted to be free of it all. But I was not so lucky.

_What's wrong, what's wrong now?_  
_Too many, too many problems._  
_Don't know where she belongs, where she belongs._  
_She wants to go home, but nobody's home._  
_It's where she lies, broken inside._  
_With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes._  
_Broken inside.-Nobody's Home, Avril Lavigne_

**A/N Review, update next Saturday!**


	10. Breakdown

**A/N Hello, everyone I apologize for the brief delay.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To LunarFairyPrincess1989 for her review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

I felt broken that day, as though I were shattering into small, unfixable pieces, splintering like glass on a hardwood floor. I was crumbling from the inside out and I wished, hoped, dreamed, and prayed for it all to be over.

My prayers went unanswered that day and I was left to watch as my best friend crumpled to the ground a pool of blood growing underneath her.

Life was cruel, far more cruel than I could ever have imagined.

_Heaven is on the way  
You can feel the hate  
but I guess you never will  
I'm on a roll again  
and I want an end  
'cause I feel you creeping in_

_-Breakdown, Breaking Benjamin_

_-Flashback-_

_I heard a muffled sob as I collapsed on the ground next to my friend's body. "Bastard." I exclaimed. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, and I hope you die." I exclaimed looking down at the blood pouring out of Carly's body._

_"I was going to kill them both." Garrison remarked, unfazed by my exclamations. "But Robin can still be of use to me, I figure she will make could leverage against her uncle if nothing else. So, I settled for Carly, here, instead."_

_I grabbed a jacket lying on the floor and pressed it against Carly's wound with as much force as I could muster._

_"Ah, ah, we can't have you saving her, that would destroy the entire purpose of this lesson." Garrison cautioned reaching down and seizing me by the arm attempting to pull me up. I shook him off and he leveled his gun on Robin. "I don't want to kill her, I could use her yet, but I will do it if you do not get up."_

_I slowly rose to my feat dropping the jacket I had been using to place pressure on Carly's wound. Robin promptly dropped to her knees next to the girl she had never gotten along with and took my place attempting to stop the bleeding._

_"Are you attempting to be funny, Miss Scorpio?" Garrison asked. "Because I'm not laughing."_

_"Neither am I." Robin said defiantly glaring at the shooter and reminding me of her parents._

_"I could kill you." He remarked mildly._

_"You won't." Robin said sounding far more sure than she actually was._

_"No, I won't." Garrison agreed. "You are as they say my ace in the hole."_

_"What do you want?" I demanded. "You've killed or released almost everyone here, what more can you possible want from us. Just leave us alone. Let us go. You've made your fucking point." I exclaimed. "Just let us go."_

_"I'm afraid, Miss Corinthos, that the party as they say has just barely begun."_

_I eyed him warily waiting for his next move, I had a feeling it would be a big one._

_"I am in charge here, and I believe that you have yet to grasp that fact." Garrison continued. "I control each of your pathetic existences, I decide who lives and who dies, at any moment I can kill every person here or I could let them go. It all depends on my choices, do you understand that? Do you?"_

_"Has anyone ever told you that you're a megalomaniac?" I asked pleasantly._

_"You begin to enter dangerous territory, Miss Corinthos." He cautioned. "You may want to learn to check that tongue of yours before you get yourself into a situation which you cannot so easily extricate yourself from."_

_"Perhaps." I agreed. "But, perhaps not." _

_He laughed then, I'm still not sure what he found so amusing, but then he was completely deranged which made his sense of humor rather different than most people's._

_"I think you will understand one day, Miss Corinthos." He said after a pause. "You will see my point of view, and then you will understand."_

_"I will not." I said fiercely. "I will never understand how you could be such a monster, how anyone could be such a monster."_

_"You know that you will understand one day, and that is what scares you, because you know that I'm right, deep down, you know it's true." Garrison continued his voice taking on a velvet quality. "One day you will understand."_

_"I hate you."_

_"I can live with that." Garrison said with a shrug. "But will you be able to live with yourself when this is all over?"_

_End Flashback_

He was wrong in some ways, right in others. I still think he's a monster, I still think he was utterly and completely insane.

But he was right about one thing, now that this is all over, I cannot live with myself. The guilt of surviving when so many didn't eats away at me everyday. Life hardly seems worth living after that.

___What I found in this town  
I'm heading for a breakdown  
What's that sound, it's so loud  
I'm heading for a breakdown_

_- Breakdown, Breaking Benjamin_

**A/N Review! Update next Saturday!**


	11. Fading Away

**A/N Hello, everyone, I apologize for the day-lateness of this update. I also apologize or the fact that I posted a chapter of my Harry Potter story 'The Marauder's Monday Magazine,' instead of this story. LOL.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To LunarFairyPrincess1989 for her review.**

**Disclaimer: I own nada. ;)**

It's strange how time can change, a second is always going to last a second you might say. I disagree however; I've found that when you are really and truly miserable a second can last for hours or even days. That evening as I watched Garrison slaughter people I had known and liked it seemed like those few hours lasted years.

Yet, they were still only hours, and when they were over I still looked the same as I had before, but inside I was different, I had changed.

-Flashback-

"_I have shown you so much this evening, Miss Corinthos, but it seems as though you have yet to grasp a single word I have said." Garrison remarked. "You haven't even understood yet that I control your fate, that I control the existence of every person in this room. With a single twitch of my finger I can change your destiny; I can alter the lives of every person here."_

_As if to prove this point Garrison opened fire on several basketball players. I watched as they crumpled to the ground._

"_You're running out of people to murder." I spat out coldly. _

"_True enough." Garrison agreed. "But don't say murder, Miss Corinthos, never murder, I like to think of it as eliminating the unworthy people."_

"_You are a murderer, plain and simple, black and white." _

"_Ah, but there are many shades of gray in life, Miss Corinthos." Garrison said shaking his head at me._

"_Not in this case." I countered. "Murder is murder."_

"_Your brother is Sonny Corinthos, is he not?" Garrison asked seemingly at random, but I had a feeling I knew where he was going with this line of inquiry._

"_That is none of your business."_

"_Your brother kills people; does that not make him a murderer?" Garrison inquired pleasantly ignoring my remark._

"_My brother is a coffee importer." I replied defiantly refusing to give him the satisfaction._

"_You know that's not true."_

"_You're a monster." I replied._

"_I prefer to look at myself as a savior, bringing new enlightenment to the world." Garrison countered. "Shades of gray, Miss Corinthos, shades of gray."_

"_You came into a high school gym, shot and killed dozens of people and you believe there is some other interpretation besides cold blooded murderer?" I demanded. "I have news for you there is only one way to interpret your actions today, and it definitely isn't savior of the human race." I added caustically._

"_Your words wound me." Garrison replied putting on an expression of extreme hurt. "Or they would if I cared in the least what a sixteen year old girl thought."_

"_Go to hell." I bit out between heavily clenched teeth. _

"_One day perhaps," Garrison agreed. "But I'm taking you with me." _

"_I will never join your 'cause.'" _

"_Not yet, maybe, but one day you will realize that I am correct, and then you will join my side." Garrison replied. _

"_If you're so confident that your side is correct than why would you be going to hell?" I demanded._

"_Society's notions of morality and what is right versus what is wrong are very different from my own," He began._

"_Well, that's for damn sure." I agreed._

"_Nonetheless I am confident that the truth of my beliefs and actions will one day be revealed to the world." Garrison replied. "Have you read Harry Potter?" He asked suddenly._

"_Yes. Why?" I asked._

"_A wise character in that book says 'there is no good or evil: only power and those too weak to seek it.'"_

"_You mean a psychotic mass murderer." I reply tersely._

"_Lord Voldemort was vastly misunderstood."_

"_You're insane." I muttered._

"_Sanity is vastly overrated." Garrison replied. "Besides I don't buy into society's conceptions of-"_

"_Sanity?" I guessed._

"_Correct." _

"_Is there anything about society you do believe in?"_

_He considered this for a few moments. "I'm not sure, but probably not."_

"_So, basically, you think that the other several billion people in this world are the insane ones while you are the only one who has ever arrived at correct notions of right and wrong?"_

"_Yes," Garrison replied seemingly not getting how utterly insane he sounded. _

_But then if he had been aware of how completely insane he was he probably wouldn't be shooting up a high school gym._

"_This is going to have to come to an end eventually." I pointed out. "You've made your point; don't you think it's time you let us go?" _

"_Not nearly, Miss Corinthos, not nearly." He replied with a grin. "We have only just begun."_

_-End Flashback-_

I wondered what he would do if I just sprinted for the gym doors. Would he shoot me? I wished he would. He had refused to so far, so did that mean that I could escape? Did I really want to? In many ways it felt safer to remain in that gym where time seemed to stand still, where I didn't have to deal with the horrors that I had seen. I knew that once the night was over, once Garrison was finally stopped I would be left trapped with these memories forever.

Suspense is often worse than knowing, at least in my opinion. And, I was rather tired of suspense, of waiting for Garrison to make his move, to make his choice. I either wanted to be sparred or killed, I did not want to stand there waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I think Garrison knew that, which is why he left me to endure in my own private hell that was far worse than anything he could inflict.

_It's in this wake that I find myself  
Losing the will to resume this Hell  
When every breath is a dying wish  
It's harder to follow the point of this_

_-Fading Away, Demon Hunter_

**A/N Review. Update next Saturday.**


	12. Crossroads

**A/N Hello, everyone, I apologize for the lateness of this update. I've been swamped lately.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: to usaprincess242 who informed that I had accidentally posted a chapter for my story The Marauder's Monday Magazine as opposed to this story. :P**

**Disclaimer: I own nada.**

_I am a hostage to my own humanity  
Self detained and forced to live in this mess I've made  
And all I'm asking is for You to do what You can with me  
But I can't ask You to give what You already gave_

_-Be My Escape, Relient K_

It was nearing the end of our ordeal, I knew it.

I also knew that the end would not come without far more suffering than we had endured thus far.

I wanted it to be over.

I was afraid for what would come next.

_Flashback_

"_Get them out." Garrison commanded suddenly. _

"_Er, who, boss?" One of the gunmen asks. _

"_I want you to get all of the remaining survivors excluding the cheerleaders out of this gym." Garrison elaborated. _

_The two gunmen seem puzzled by his actions but they begin rounding up the few un-injured people excluding my fellow cheerleaders. _

_It was then that I knew that the worst had only just begun. I was happy for the people who got to escape, but I knew, knew with every fiber of my being that Garrison's desire to be alone with us cheerleaders could mean nothing good for us. _

_When the others had been evacuated from the room and Garrison was left alone with just the fifteen of us cheerleaders, sixteen if you counted the unconscious Carly. _

"_Now the fun can really begin." He remarked ominously. _

_I wondered if he would let us leave if we quit the squad simultaneously. I rather doubted it. _

"_On your feet, Scorpio." He commanded Robin harshly. She had been crouched on the ground placing pressure on Carly's wound. _

_She scowled at him and made no move to stand. _

"_On your feet," He repeated. "Before I give your friend enough holes to rival a slice of Swiss cheese." He added leveling the gun on Carly's unconscious body. _

_Robin stood up. _

"_Now line up." He commanded. "Facing me." _

_The rest of the squad excluding Carly and myself hastened to form a line. _

_I didn't like this at all, thus far being ordered to form a line by Garrison never meant anything good. It reminded me vaguely of picking teams in gym class when you would try to place one person between you and your best friend so that if the teacher picked every other person you would wind up on the same team. _

_I made to join the squad but was held in place by Garrison grabbing my arm, I shook him off. _

"_What is it?" I demanded. _

"_Not you, Miss Corinthos," He said. "I have a special job for you." _

_That couldn't mean anything good, I wasn't sure of many things but I was at least sure of that. _

"_We are nearing the time for the grand finale, Miss Corinthos, it is nearly here, which means it is time to go big, time to make this a day that will live in infamy." _

_There was a strange glint in his eye as he spoke and it unnerved me. I wished fervently that this was all just a bad dream and I would wake up at any moment to find that none of this had ever happened and I had fallen asleep watching a bad horror movie on television. _

"_I'm fairly certain that no one will be forgetting today ever, so it's hardly necessary for you to do anything else." I replied. _

"_Oh, but it is." Garrison answered. "When I came here I was resolved to find someone who I could mold into my protégé, who could take my place, I found that individual in you, Miss Corinthos, and now it is time for you to take your rightful place." _

_I really did not like where this was going not at all. _

_He pulled a small handgun out of a shoulder holster and held it out to me. _

_I stared at it incredulously. _

"_You've said you hate me, that you want me to die, so I'm giving you the chance to kill me." _

_He presses the gun into my hand, it is surprisingly heavy. _

_I feel hyper aware of everything and I notice that the other gunmen have moved so that they are standing one on each end of the line, the first next to Robin, the second next to Elizabeth. _

"_I'm giving you the chance to kill me, shoot me; you keep saying how much you hate me." He says. "Of course if you do it then you will become the thing you most detest; a murderer, someone who makes judgments about the worth of others. And when you do that you will become just like me." _

_I stare at him in shock. _

"_Can you do it, Miss Corinthos?" He whispers. "Can you kill me?" _

_End Flashback_

I stood there at the metaphorical crossroads of my life finding myself with the chance to put an end to all of this, to free us all from this hell. Or at least to free my friends, because I knew, right then, that no matter what choice I made I would never be able to get past it.

My decision would haunt me for the rest of my days.

_This one last bullet you mention is my one last shot at redemption  
because I know to live you must give your life away  
And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and  
I've been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key  
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me_

_-Be My Escape, Relient K_

**A/N Review! Update next Saturday!**


	13. Goodbye

**A/N Hello, everyone! I apologize for the lateness of this update; I am busy getting ready for college at the moment.**

**Thanks to all Reviewers!**

**Dedication: To usaprincess242 for her very lovely review, thanks so much. :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot, nothing else.**

**In cards and flowers on your window  
Your friends all plead for you to stay**

** -Shadow of the Day, Linkin Park**

In the course of our lives we are all faced with a turning point, a single moment in which we have to make a snap decision.

These are the moments that change our entire lives, the moments that determine our futures.

That day I faced one of those moments, and I was forced to make a choice that would change my life forever.

Flashback

"_This is your one and only chance to put a stop to this, Miss Corinthos, kill me and you all go free, fail and not one of your friends will live to exit this gym." Garrison informed me. "Can you do it? Can you kill me?" _

_I hated him, I wanted him dead, wanted to hurt him. Except that I didn't. _

_I had never been comfortable with the violence that surrounded my brother, I had never wanted to be a part of that, then or now, I did not wish to kill anyone. _

"_Make your choice, Miss Corinthos, I haven't got all day," Garrison said taping his wrist in the place where a watch would have been had he been wearing one. _

_I held the gun on him, with shaking hands; I could see the barrel quiver up and down. Garrison walked forward so that the gun was literally jammed into his chest. "We have reached the end, Miss Corinthos, what will you do?" _

"_I-I don't know." I said in a small voice feeling like a little girl again. _

"_You need to know." He replied. "Make your choice, Courtney." _

_I jumped slightly at his use of my first name. _

"_I do believe that we know each other well enough for a first name, we are after all about to be bound together inextricably in a way far more intimate than any other, our destinies are intertwined, Courtney, and no matter what choice you make tonight you will never escape me." _

"_Why do you want to die?" I demanded. _

"_Death is but a stepping stone to something greater, something far, far greater." _

"_Hell?" I guessed, recklessly. _

_He laughed. "Oh, very nice, Miss Corinthos, very nice indeed." _

"_I thought I was Courtney now," I wondered aloud almost forgetting the fact that he and I were only separated by the barrel of a gun. _

"_You always were." He replied cryptically. "Enough stalling, Courtney, it's time for you to make your choice, you can kill me now and be branded as a murderer for the rest of your life, or else you can watch as all your friends die before your eyes one by one." Garrison continued. "When you make your decision, and you kill me, because I know you will, you will attempt to justify it, and you will tell yourself that it was your only choice, but in the back of your mind it will haunt you, you will hear it over and over again 'murderer, murderer, murderer,' like a song on repeat playing over and over again. You will never forget, Miss Corinthos, you will never escape. I will always be a part of you, forever and ever, not even death will part us." _

"_Bastard," I whispered into the otherwise silent gymnasium. _

"_Perhaps," He agreed with a shrug. "But I can live with that, can you live with killing me?" He asked. "Can you continue to surround yourself with your friends knowing that there is blood on your hands? Can you stand it?" _

"_I won't," I insisted. _

"_Won't what?" He asked sounding amused. "Kill me?" Garrison continued. "We both know that you will, sooner or later you will decide that the costs of letting me live are far more than the costs of killing me at least in the short run. Of course, I know enough of you to know that you will be haunted by this act for the rest of your life, until the day that you join me in hell, so make your choice, Courtney." _

"_How do I even know that if I did agree to your little scheme that your gunmen would actually let my friends go?" I asked._

"_You don't," I agreed. "You have no proof beyond my word, but I can assure you that they have no interest in these games beyond their paychecks, and are as eager to leave as anyone else here." _

"_I highly doubt they will get past the cops out there to escape." I pointed out._

"_That's a risk you take with the job." Garrison said with a shrug. "Now enough avoidance, make your choice, Courtney, the final judgment is upon us. _

_My eyes locked with his as my hand tightened around the gun. _

"_Goodbye." I whispered._

_A gunshot echoed through the gym._

End Flashback

**I close both locks below the window  
I close both blinds and turn away Sometimes solutions aren't so simple  
Sometimes goodbye's the only way -Shadow of the Day, Linkin Park**

**A/N Update will be on Saturday, in the meantime drop me a review, let me know what you think. :)**


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